Disclaimer: just to let you all know, I don't own glee. Fox and RM do, just in case you didn't know this yet.

AN: as always many many thanks to my BETA who assures and encourages me every time I'm not sure about something.

And also many thanks to you wonderful readers for taking the time to read, review and/or add me to your lists.

Before moving on to read this chapter please keep in mind that some scenes might not make much sense right now but they will in the next chapter or further down as the story progresses. This story won't be told in a chronological order, so it will probably jump back and forth between certain scenes and or chapter. I'll try to keep it to a minimum but sometimes I feel it is best for the sake of flow of the story.


"Why haven't you returned my calls?"

Rachel gingerly sat up in her bed, her mind still struggling to wake up. The question had been asked straightaway as soon as she had picked up her phone, no greeting was said prior to it.

"Who's this?"

"I've called you several times today but there's been nada signal from your side."

Rachel didn't get the time to react or even comprehend what was being said. The person on the other end of the line was already bombarding her with his next questions. -Was it just her or did it seem like she was being accused of wrongdoings she wasn't even aware of committing?-

"What's your affinity with giants Rach? Animal sweaters I can understand, I even find it endearing, but this new affinity of yours is just perplexing. What is it that you find so fascinating about them? Is it their mumbling sluggish behaviour?

Have you finally discovered Hudson's not so great after all and replaced him with a newer version, version 2.0?"

Rachel was now sitting straight up in her bed, finally recognizing the voice on the phone.

"Jesse."

"Who else. Now answer me." The demand in Jesse's tone brooked no arguments.

"Yes, who else would be egocentric enough to call me up at…" She looked over at her alarm clock "…4:27 in the middle of the night."

"Rachel." he said her name almost like a growl, a warning in his voice as if he could snap at any moment.

"For the record Finn might not possess your vocal range or strength but he has a lot of potential which he'll reach to its fullest very soon, I'm certain of it.

And don't you dare insult my new friend, he's the sweetest most generous person I've ever met. What gives you the right to insult someone you don't even know?"

Rachel was feeling angry now, insulted on behalf of her friend. A friend who had given her one of the best day of her life.

She glanced at the object lying on her side table, smiling fondly at the memory forever attached to it, remembering how the stars on it had sparkled in the sun. The brilliance of those stars was almost like a metaphor to what she was feeling back then while playing with it.

"Does Hudson know he's been replaced?"

The question brought her back to the situation at hand. Sighing Rachel decided it was best not to ignore him.

"Did you know I've also acquired an affinity for lions?"

The silence that followed was indication enough for her how she had caught him off guard.

"I hear there are more than a few mountain lions roaming in L.A."

"What does it have to do with our conversation?" He asked her confused.

"Everything, if you don't stop the third degree and let me go back to sleep!"

Jesse chuckled at this and ran his left hand through his hair while the other held the phone close to his ear. Despite still nowhere close to knowing who her new companion was, he still felt better. -At least she hadn't called him her boyfriend. Just friend.- This knowledge did wonders to his feelings, granted it didn't mean that the tone-deaf-big-buffoon was out of the way but he wasn't gonna let that fact ruin his mood. He turned his attention back to the conversation at hand.

"I'll sing you a lullaby to make it up to you," he offered to her. She had always loved it to hear him sing before going to sleep when they were still dating.

"Song of your choice."

"Thanks for the offer but right now I'm too tired for a song, I…"

Jesse frowned when she suddenly stopped talking, his eyes growing wide when in her stead a male voice started speaking.

"Listen Romeo, now isn't the right time to serenade Juliet. And at least follow the script, Juliet here actually has a big enough window with a balcony for that particular scene. If you're not planning to do so I suggest you leave her alone and try wooing at a more appropriate time! In the meantime why don't you practice your lines and vocals some more, this Juliet has perfect pitch and is quite picky. Goodnight!"

The connection was then abruptly broken, leaving Romeo (a.k.a. Jesse St. James) looking at his phone in astonishment.


Juliet (a.k.a. Rachel Berry) wasn't faring any better than her Romeo. She kept looking back and forth between her phone and her (semi) Tybalt, who pushed her phone back into her right hand and all but stomped out of her room.

Rachel swallowed hard and buried her face in her hands, fearing what morning would bring.

There were two golden rules mandatory to follow when it came to her new friend and if you valued your life.

First of all, never ever under any circumstance come between him and his beloved sleep! -please notice the exclamation points!-

Second, he was NOT -repeat NOT - a morning person. He had to be approached like a dangerous creature from Hell if you wanted to keep your head attached to your neck and or loose every limb of your body. Approaching him could only happen after he had drowned down two cups of coffee, at the very least.

Rachel had no problem with these two golden rules. She grew up with her dad after all, who was like her friend albeit a milder version when it came to his little princess and her daddy was quite the mama bear ready to defend his little girl against anyone, even scaring her dad.

Unfortunately her dads wouldn't be there in the morning, leaving her defenseless.

She sighed and decided there was no use worrying herself like this. She laid back down in her bed, falling back to sleep, her dreams filled with the person who had woken her up.


"I hope you still had a goodnight rest after ... 'my wooing'?" Jesse asked Rachel as he reached her side. He had been surprised seeing her standing in the room when he had entered the dance studio near his place -Does this mean her place is nearby too?-

Her shock was evident to see when she had spotted him, her brown eyes seemed impossibly large as she had stared at him. Jesse thought it best to give her time to overcome her shock before he had approached her. To be honest he needed time too. If she had been the only one who was surprised he would've approached her immediately like the last time in the music store. - Don't worry, he's normally a gallant person, his parents actually taught him this or more precisely his mother had instructed his nanny to teach him this ("Appearance is everything. He needs to know and remember this all the time!"). But it was more fun to rile up one Rachel Berry.-

"Surprisingly yes, thank you for asking. I actually had a very wonderful dream, filled with sweet images." Rachel answered, bending down to pull a towel out of her sport bag and then neatly putting the towel on top of it.

Jesse eyed her curiously, not really expecting an answer, especially not a detailed one. He put his own bag next to hers.

"I'm glad to hear that."

After completing her task Rachel finally looked over at Jesse who was watching her. His stance relaxed and he seemed to be in a good mood. No trace of fatigue was visible on his face, nothing that indicated he too had been awake at approximately four o'clock at night demanding answers from her. -Why again?- Regardless of having slept well after their midnight conversation she still had some dark circles under her eyes. -Maybe he's using some foundation? No, he was too vain for that. He'd probably be offended that she'd thought he needed help to look perfect.-

"You would be since you were in it too, actually you were the male lead."

Jesse's posture changed considerably, his face unreadable and his eyes burning with an emotion Rachel wished she hadn't seen.

"Do go on." He had said this in an almost whisper, stepping closer to her.

Rachel swallowed hard when the electricity between them intensified. He had somehow managed to change the teasing tone of their conversation. She felt her body react to the changes, straining herself not to show this or to back away from him. He was challenging her and Rachel Barbra Berry was not afraid of challenges -even if she had trouble controlling her breathing right now-.

She purposely changed her stance, leaning against the wall on her right side, crossing her arms in front of her, coyly looking up at him. Rachel knew she would be treading dangerous territory but at this moment she just didn't care. -He will not win this-.

"If you insist. But first let me inform you how this dream of mine left me feeling very…content." The last part was said slowly, deliberately letting it hang between them.

She inwardly smirked when she saw him swallow and lick his lips, obviously impatient for her to continue.

"There was me in it too, watching you…" she said the last part softly, again pausing for effect.

Rachel wondered if she was taking this too far when she saw him step closer to her, personal space non-existent now, lowering his head slightly towards her, his gaze shifting from her eyes to her lips. She knew she had to end it now or victory would be his again.

She smiled shrewdly at him.

"….get eaten by mountain lions."

Her best Rachel Berry smile was now on her face, never wavering as she watched different emotions pass his face. It changed to confusion, disbelief, annoyance and finally settled on amusement.

Jesse shook his head, smiling fondly at her. His smile grew bigger when he saw how pleased she looked with herself.

"Score," he said, leaning down to brush his lips against her cheek. Acknowledging her victory over him but unwilling to be without a consolation prize.

Rachel and Jesse were just standing there, both still smiling at each other when someone appeared next to Rachel.

Jesse didn't know whether to be annoyed or relieved about this but came to a conclusion that he definitely felt annoyed -big understatement- when he saw who it was standing next to her.

-Just Great-